Dakar 2024 has come to an end, and Tobias Ebster has confirmed himself as the best rookie of this edition. The rider led the Rookie Challenge from the first stage, after Dusan Drdaj (Orion Moto Racing Group/KTM) showed more strength in the prologue.
Riding a KTM from the Kini Rally Racing Team, Ebster had Drdaj as his main rival until the sixth stage when the Czech rider dropped out of contention. From then on, the German rider had over an hour’s advantage over Jeremy Miroir (Fantic Racing).
The Frenchman even won the seventh stage, but a day later, he fell behind, and until the end, it was Santos (XRaids Experience/Husqvarna) chasing Ebster. However, he was already more than two hours away. The Portuguese rider had a consistent performance, even winning the eighth stage among the rookies.
However, Ebster managed his lead well, increased it, and finished with a 2h55m16s advantage over Santos in the final rookie standings – ranking 20th overall. Miroir closed the podium, trailing by 4h35m39s.
Final top ten of rookies:
